Organizing

Review the Resources on our website

• Everything you need to successfully plan your Eucharistic Rosary Congress (ERC) can be found on our website.  Explore the many resources available, including planning timelines, promotional materials, and prayer materials. These resources will be crucial for planning and executing the ERC. Also, when you sign up to coordinate an ERC, you’ll receive the Coordinator’s Manuel to download.

• In most cases, the weeklong event will be held at a single parish, and, depending on your resources, can either be a Full ERC (including opening and closing Mass, Eucharistic Procession, Confession, and more) or a Basic ERC (opening and closing Mass).
• In some cases, a parish may be too small to hold an entire ERC, in which case you can hold a Traveling ERC in which each 24-hour period of Adoration is held at a different parish in the diocese.

• Dedicated volunteers are always welcome to help with various aspects of planning and coordinating, such as logistics, outreach, and promotion. The size of your team will depend on the type of ERC and your situation. Typically, there is a Main Coordinator who oversees the planning, works with the parish(es) involved, and recruits a team of volunteers to help. The planning team would include an Adoration Coordinator and a Promotions Coordinator to assist the Main Coordinator. The Adoration Coordinator recruits 24 shift captains who each cover a 6-hour period and recruit the adorers. In some cases, a coordinator may have fewer shift captains, such as six captains who each recruit adorers for a 24-hour period. The Promotions Coordinator develops the promotional materials and communicates with the parish office, local Catholic schools, parishes in the area, etc. using the different media tools available. In addition to the Adoration and Promotions Coordinators, another volunteer to recruit on your planning team could include someone to organize the Masses, Confession and processions if needed.
• For a Traveling ERC, you will need a Main Coordinator and a Parish Coordinator for each of the participating parishes. The Parish Coordinator recruits and works with the pastor and a team of volunteers from their parish.

• Consider the availability of your parish or diocesan facilities for the event.
• It is preferable to hold the ERC in the main church if possible, rather than an adoration chapel.  The main church is preferred because the Eucharistic Rosary Congress is a public prayer of reparation and all are invited to enter and pray together.
• For a Full ERC, it is often held at the “mother church” of the diocese, usually a cathedral or basilica.  But it doesn’t need to be!  Any church that is available for 24/7 Adoration for the week will work.
• For a Traveling ERC, you will need to coordinate the dates with the host parishes.
• And don’t forget about local monasteries and convents – many have enthusiastically participated with the ERC.

• Develop a detailed schedule for the ERC, for both the week of the event and the planning and execution stages as the event draws nearer.  We have everything you need in the Resources section.

• Your parish priest is an integral part of this process – you will need his support, but assure him that you (and your team) will take care of all heavy lifting: the planning, logistics, and scheduling. Your priest should take responsibility to do two things: celebrate the Opening and Closing Masses, and to promote the ERC to encourage the parishioners to participate.

• Assign specific responsibilities to your team members, such as scheduling of adorers, organizing the Masses, and developing bulletin announcements and promotion.
• Ensure everyone understands their roles and responsibilities and has needed materials.

• Prepare the Rosary Binders ahead of time (found on our Resources page). The Rosary Binders contain the four mysteries of the Rosary with meditations and special intentions for each decade. You can choose to have one or more complete binders available for the adorers who lead the Rosary, or print Rosary Booklets for each adorer who is leading the prayers.
• Have additional rosaries available for participants.

• Some parishes cannot accommodate 24/7 adoration because of Masses or other commitments. The Blessed Sacrament is reposed during these periods.
• If your bishop or a priest is unavailable for Opening and Closing Masses, check with the diocese to see if a visiting priest is available. Work within the limitations imposed by your particular situation.